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Editor’s Note
Week 20, 2023
Read time: 5 minutes
Settle into your favorite reading spot to read today’s edition, as it entails the biggest tech stories from across Africa.
Enjoy!
Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal.
Editor’s Picks
Kenya to locally assemble smartphones
Kenya is edging closer to local smartphone assembly. According to the ICT Cabinet Secretary, the smartphones will cost the proposed amount of $40, and will be released in July.
Nigerian telecoms may disconnect USSD
Nigerian telecoms are set to stop facilitating banks’ USSD services due to the banks’ failure to pay over ₦120 billion ($260 million) in USSD debts.
SA to pay citizens for saving electricity
Eskom plans to reward South Africans with as much as R3 million ($154,000) for every megawatt of power they save. This is to reduce the increasing hours of blackouts in the country.
Zimbabwe sells $39 million of gold-backed token
Zimbabwe took a leap of faith and landed right on its feet! The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s first gold-backed digital currency sale sold 14 billion Zimbabwean dollars’ worth of gold-backed digital tokens—worth around $39 million.
MTN’s $320 million project
MTN has kicked off a new project, Project East2West, which will invest R6 billion ($320 million) to connect 10 African countries between 2023 and 2025 with a fibre cable network.
Egypt sells stake in Telecom Egypt
The Egyptian government has sold 9.5% of its stake in Telecom Egypt to pay its debt. The government wants to raise $2 billion by selling its stake in 32 companies by June.
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Ghana secures $3 billion IMF bailout
Ghana’s request for a $3 billion bailout from the IMF has been approved. Investors had been betting on this news over the past six months, making Ghana’s cedi the world’s top-performing currency against the US dollar.
Africa to get another data centre
Africa Data Centres has revealed its plans to commence construction on recently acquired land in Accra, Ghana’s central business district. The upcoming facility will be the largest in West Africa, excluding Nigeria, to date.
‘Golf Mafia’ cleared of any wrongdoing
Remember those alleged Zimbabwean gold mafia members who were accused of looting the country’s precious gold reserves? They have just been cleared of all wrongdoings as the investigations revealed no evidence of gold smuggling on their part.
Miva secures online university license
Miva has been granted an online university license by the NUC. The university will commence offering degrees in eight courses before expanding to other fields.
Who brought the money this week?
This week, Kenya-based fintech company M-KOPA raised $250 million in debt and equity funding.
Jia, a Kenyan fintech startup, received $4.3 million in seed funding. The round was led by TCG Crypto. Other participating investors include BlockTower, Hashed Emergent, Saison Capital, Global Coin Research, Packy McCormick, Anand Iye, Jared Hecht, and Rory Eakin.
Figorr Nigerian cold chain technology company raised $1.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Atlantica Ventures. Other participating investors include Vested World, Jaza Rift, and Katapult.
Egypt’s auto-tech company Helpoo raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Saudi firm Morni.
Chari, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce company, raised undisclosed follow-on funding from Plug and Play.
South-African cybersecurity company Port443 raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Iziko2.0, a technology investment firm, and RMB Ventures.
What else to read this weekend?
What does the naira devaluation mean for Nigerians?
Laid-off employees and tech newbies weathering the global downturn
Do South African startups exit too early?
What the tech ecosystem expects from a Tinubu presidency
Kenya’s Data Protection Commissioner takes aim at loan apps
Is the internet safer for women today than ten years ago?
The story behind M-KOPA’s $250 debt and equity raise
Nigerian banks and telcos faceoff
Here is Safaricom Ethiopia’s 7-month report card
Written by: Ngozi Chukwu & Hannatu Asheolge
Edited by: Pamela Tetteh